The Pacific Coast Highway is about 470 miles between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but it drives slower. Switchback turns, steep curvy inclines and speed traps keep motorists from making fast time.

But that's okay, because the views are why drivers come this way. For much of the trip south, the land on the right slopes off sharply to the sea, while land on the left rises up cliff sides. Coves and bays force the route through countless meanders with views of rock-lined beaches.

It passes through Big Sur, Monterey Bay, Santa Barbara and many other places to tarry for a few hours -- or days.

Wildlife viewing is incredible at places like Año Nuevo State Park near Santa Cruz, Elkhorn Slough north of Monterey, and Piedras Blanco near San Simeon. You might spot sea otters, elephant seals, sea lions, even whales.

Ventura is the gateway to Channel Islands National Park, where some of California's original coastal habitat can be experienced. Only reachable by boat, these isolated chunks of rock sticking out of the sea are known as the North American Galapagos because of the rare, endemic species that evolved in isolation there.